BOWLING GREEN, Ky. – The Hilltoppers were on the road to Birmingham, Ala., for their first conference series of the season against UAB on Thursday, March 12, when everything came to a sudden halt. With sporting events being cancelled across the country due to the COVID-19 pandemic, head coach John Pawlowski received word that WKU's weekend series against the Blazers had been called off, prompting the team to head back to campus.
Although only the weekend series had been affected to that point, many knew there could potentially be more severe cancellations coming.
"I think the initial reaction for everybody was just shock," said redshirt junior Bailey Sutton of the team's reaction on the bus. "You didn't know what to do. It was just a raw reaction of 'this isn't real.'"
Just days later, on March 16, Conference USA officially made the decision to cancel all spring sport competitions, marking an end to the Hilltoppers' 2020 campaign just 16 games in.
With collegiate spring sports eventually cancelled across the country, many student-athletes and coaches were left wondering how to cope with such an unprecedented situation.
"I've been coaching for quite a while," said Pawlowski. "But, I told our staff, 'I don't have any experience to draw on to put our players at ease going through this, because I've never been through it, none of us have.' So, it's been an unbelievable challenge."
Athletic programs across the nation received some brighter news on March 30, with the NCAA Division I Council voting to allow schools to offer an additional season of eligibility to spring-sport student-athletes.
The NCAA's decision gave teams a sense of relief, while also providing programs with a clearer vision of what needs to be done in preparation for the 2021 season.
"I'm glad the NCAA made the decision to allow us to come back," said senior Kevin Lambert. "For me personally, it was an easy decision, because I love baseball and want to win a championship next year. So, I've made the decision to come back next year. I'm just very grateful that the NCAA made that decision and it's going to be really good for college baseball next year, there's going to be a lot of competition."
With added clarity on what lies ahead, and the likelihood of increased competition next year with roster sizes expanding, the Hilltoppers know they have to put the work in now to set themselves up for a strong season in 2021.
That's led to an increased focus on both schoolwork and exercise during this period of isolation.
"They have to continue to stay motivated," said Pawlowski. "Whether it's in their schoolwork, whether it's in their conditioning, weight lifting, skill work, whatever it may be. I think that's the biggest challenge; trying to convey to them that on the other side of this we're going to come out and we're going to be in great shape when we come out of this, but when we go through it they have to stay focused and locked in. We as a staff have really tried to stay connected with them as best as we can, and encourage them to communicate with each other and move through this process."
The team's strength and conditioning coach, Duane Hall, has played a big part in making sure that players are still able to stay in shape during this time, regardless of the equipment they have available to them.
"D Hall emailed us one day and was like 'Here's a list of stuff that we need to work out with, can you tell me what you have and don't have?'," said Sutton. "Then D Hall went through each person and developed a workout program, whether you have a full home gym or if you have pretty much nothing. I don't have any weights or anything at my house. So, D Hall went through and developed a body weight program, which sounds easy, but not with D Hall – nothing's easy."
The players themselves have also found ways to get creative to ensure that they're staying active and still developing their skills.
"The workout structure is based on what they have available to do and how they have the ability to do it," said Pawlowski. "So, I'm encouraging them to do baseball skill work as much as they can. We had one guy when we were on a Zoom call, Junior Coleman, I asked him if he was going to hit and he said he didn't have a place to hit so he made his own tee – got creative and made his own tee. Some guys are throwing against the wall, some guys are lifting, some guys are doing body weights. So, everybody is doing something different. Our conversations are mostly about encouraging them to stay positive and get some kind of work done. They can get better during this time if they choose to."
With added time off for skill development and expanded rosters across the country, there's a belief that we could see college baseball being played at a higher level in the coming season and beyond.
"With all of this time that we have off without games, we'll be able to just practice and work on our craft," said Lambert. "So, I think that a lot of teams will be more polished and a lot of players will be able to develop their tools a lot more. I think it will be a lot more competitive next year."
The added competition and roster sizes also means there will be some difficult decisions coming for coaching staffs, especially for a team like WKU, who had six seniors in their everyday lineup.
"We could have eight or nine seniors that come back," said Pawlowski. "If those guys come back, with all the junior college players and freshmen we have coming in, there's going to be some tough decisions that are going to have to be made. There's going to be some good players coming into programs that are going to have to be patient, especially if you have a good group of seniors, which we do. We've got a tremendous group. We're thankful that the rosters are going to be expanded. It's changed everything. The positive is that its really made us revaluate what we're doing and how we're doing things as we move forward."
The current players welcome that additional competition, knowing that it can spur growth for the team as a whole. The squad also knows that it can rely on its veteran leadership to create a positive atmosphere.
"I think the more people and more competition the better," said Sutton. "I think a lot of the things that come from sports that I love the most is the competitive nature of it, just fighting for a spot. I think it's going to be good for everybody. Just the fact that there's a lot of leadership, and even more now than there was last year. So, I think the bigger team and the older guys, I think it's going to benefit us more than being something to worry about."
Even while still in the midst of this difficult time, the Hilltoppers have a positive outlook on the future.
"Looking at how our season had started and the guys we had, it all felt too good to be true, and then it just kind of got ripped from us," said Sutton. "I think going into next year that momentum will continue to transition over. I think with our team, we had a good core unit of guys, and I think that the team chemistry was as good as its ever been so I think that will transition well into next year."
Western Kentucky University Athletics
- Champions Climb Here
- WKU Athletics
- Athletic Director
- Academic Services
- Annual Report
- Athletic Communications
- Athletic Hall of Fame
- Athletic Training
- Big Red
- CLIMB Program - NIL
- Compliance
- Facilities
- Financial Reports
- For Students
- Student Employment
- Forms/Requests
- Book Big Red
- Donation Requests
- Site Feedback
- For Fans
- Hilltopper Highlights
- Gameday Promotions
- Alumni Tailgates
- Big Red's Rascals
- Basketball Gameday
- Football Gameday
- Mobile Tickets
- Travel Center
- Tickets
- Give
